Automatic film rewinder

Abstract: A device for automatically rewinding a film (F) of various sizes from its film cartridge (X) to a magazine for use with a developing machine. The film cartridge of the film to be rewound is supported on a support member (3) at the inlet side. The film is fed by the film feed device having feed rollers (4), film feed motor (5) and film guide (6). It is taken up on the take-up magazine (Y) supported on a support at the outlet side. The rear end of the film is cut off the film cartridge by a cutter (8).

Description: This invention relates an automatic film rewinder system comprising an automatic film rewinder and a processing container, said automatic rewinder comprising: a first support means for supporting a film cartridge accommodating a single film, a cutter means for cutting the rear end of the film from the film cartridge, a second support means for supporting said processing container, and a film feed device for feeding the film from said film cartridge to said processing container comprising a plurality of pairs of feed rollers, and a first photo detector being located between a first and second pair of feed rollers. Since photographic films come in various sizes (110, 125, 135, etc.), they have to be rewound into a special magazine for use with a developing machine before developing them. Heretofore, such rewinding work has been carried out by putting both a film cartridge accommodating a film and the magazine in a black box, inserting both hands of an operator into the black box, and manually rewinding the film into the magazine. Such rewinding work is extremely low in workability and efficiency partly because such work has to be done manually and partly because the operator cannot see the inside of the black box. Thus, it has been desired to automate this rewinding work. An example of such an automatic film rewinder is presented by the Japanese document JP5-119461. Said film rewinder, called a film splicing apparatus, comprises a film delivering unit (60) where a film (56) which is delivered in a film cartridge (14) is kept during the process of rewinding. From there the film is taken by a film feed device (64) and directed along a detecting device and then forwarded via further components of the film splicing apparatus towards one of provided film magazines (54). Such a film splicing apparatus used by itself or in combination with a curl removing apparatus as presented by the Japanese document JP5-011354 is mainly designed for being used in large laboratories processing a great amount of films in a very short time. Therefore, this film splicing apparatus takes the film from the original cartridge and combines its beginning to the end of a previously rewound film, thus, producing take-up magazines holding more than one single film for further processing of a certain amount of films at one time. However, this film splicing apparatus requires a very complex structure and, therefore, is extremely expensive to build and also needs a vast amount of films to be processed every day in order for it to be cost efficient. Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a low cost automatic film rewinder which can automatically pull a film out of its film cartridge and forward this one film into a special processing container for use with a developing machine. According to the present invention this objective is solved for an automatic film rewinder of the above kind in that said processing container is designed to hold a maximum of one film and is usable for various types of film, and wherein said film feed device further comprises a curl remover for removing any curling tendency of the film while the film is being fed through said film feed device, a magnetic head for reading magnetic information recorded on the film and writing magnetic information onto the film while the film is being fed through said film feed device, and a magnetic device for pressing together said first pair of feed rollers as the front end of said film is detected by said first photo detector, and a film feed motor for driving said feed rollers via a belt. The automatic film rewinder of this invention makes it possible to automatically rewind films into the container specially designed for the developing machine without a conventional black box. Thus, it is possible to save labor and improve workability. Other features and objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the automatic film rewinder of the embodiment; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing the inlet portion of the same; Fig. 3 is an enlarged view showing the outlet portion of the same; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the portion shown in Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the processing container In Fig. 1, numeral 1 designates a case. At one end of a top plate 2, where it is recessed, is provided a support member 3 on which is set a film cartridge X accommodating a film F. The film is pulled out of the film cartridge X and fed in a film guide 6 by a film feed device comprising a plurality of pairs of feed rollers 4 arranged in a U-shape, pulleys each coupled to one of each pair of rollers, a belt (or a chain) B in engagement with the pulleys, and a film feed motor 5 for driving the belt B. Basically, the component parts of the film feed device are mounted on a mounting plate 7. A cutting unit 8 for cutting the rear end of the film F is provided in the film feed path immediately behind the film cartridge X. Fig. 2 illustrates the detailed structure of the inlet portion of the device. The cutting unit 8 has a cutter movable to a position shown by two-dot chain line in Fig. 2 to cut the rear end of the film F after it has been completely pulled out of the film cartridge. The support member 3 is pivotally mounted on a support shaft 3a and is normally kept horizontally biased by a spring 3b. When the film is fed out of the film cartridge X completely and further pulled, the support member 3 is pivoted down against the bias of the spring 3b until a protrusion 3c provided on the bottom of the spring 3b abuts a position detector PS1, which then produces a signal. The cutting unit 8 is activated by this signal. When the front end of the film F accommodated in the film cartridge X is detected by a photo-detector PH1 (comprising a light source and a light receptor), it will produce a signal, which activates a solenoid 9, so that its head 9a will move toward the frontmost pair of feed rollers 4, i.e. the feed roller pair located nearest to the support member 3, to press one of the rollers against the other with the film sandwiched therebetween. The film is thus fed. Only the frontmost pair of feed rollers 4 are adapted to be pressed against each other in response to the detection signal. While the film F is not being fed, the spring is in a position where it does not press the rollers against each other. The other pairs of feed rollers are pressed against each other at all times. Numeral 10 designates a magnetic head unit for reading out the information written on the film F or write in information onto the film while the film is being fed. Numeral 11 designates a curl remover for removing any curling tendency of the film. It comprises a heating drum 12 and two presser drums 13. Any curling tendency of the film is removed by being heated while passing between the drums. At the terminal end of the film feed path is provided a support 14 on which is set a processing container Y as another case for the film, which is exclusively used with a developing machine. Fig. 5 shows the outer configuration of the processing container Y. Its case is divided into two halves. One of the halves rotatably carries a take-up shaft, while the other serves as an openable light-shielding cover Ya. A light-shield slit Yb through which the film F is inserted is provided at one end toward which the light-shielding cover Ya is closed. As shown in Fig. 3, the processing container Y is set so that the light-shield slit Yb is connected to the outlet of the film feed path. The film F is thus wound onto the take-up shaft Yc. Yd is a guide for guiding the film F when inserted into the light-shield slit Yb. The take-up unit for winding the film F into the processing container Y further comprises a take-up shaft driving motor 15 for driving the take-up shaft Yc and a driving motor 16 for opening and closing the light-shielding cover Ya. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the detailed structure of the take-up portion. The output of the take-up shaft driving motor 15 is transmitted by way of a belt 151 to a rotary shaft 152 aligned with the take-up shaft Yc of the processing container Y (Fig. 4). To one end of the rotary shaft 152 is connected a torque limiter 153. To its other end is mounted, through a spring 155, a coupling end 154 coupled to the take-up shaft Yc of the magazine so that its axial position is adjustable. The cover driving motor 16 has an output shaft 161 carrying an eccentric pin 162 which is provided offset from the axis of the shaft 161 and engaged in an elongated hole 164 formed in a slide plate 163 of the mechanism for opening and closing the cover. The slide plate 163 is slidably supported by upper and lower guide rods 166 supported on a frame 165 fixed to the driving motor 16. As shown in the plan view of Fig. 4, a ⊐-shaped arm 167 for opening and closing the cover Ya is mounted to one end of the slide plate 163. A spring plate 168 is secured to the center of the ⊐-shaped arm 167. To close the light-shielding cover Ya of the processing container Y, the spring plate 168 is pressed against the cover. To open the cover, the ends of the light-shielding cover Ya are pulled by hooks 169 formed on the front end of the ⊐-shaped arm 167 (Fig. 4). The slide plate 163 carries a position detector PS2 for detecting its own position by detecting the position of a light-shielding plate 170. PH2 in Fig. 3 indicates a film detector. When a predetermined time has elapsed after the tail end of the film F had passed the detector PH2, it produces a detection signal to deactivate the take-up device, the film feed motor, etc. The automatic film rewinder of this embodiment makes it possible to rewind films pulled out of various kinds of film cartridges onto the processing container used exclusively for a developing machine. Its operation is described below: Before starting the rewinding, the processing container Y is set on the support 14 and the light-shield slit Yb of the container is opened by the driving motor 16 for opening and closing the cover. In this state, the film feed motor 5 and the take-up shaft driving motor 15 are activated. When the film accommodated in the film cartridge X set on the support member 3 is pulled out little and its front end reaches the film detector PH1, it produces a detection signal, which activates the solenoid 9. The film feeding step thus begins. After setting a film cartridge X on the support member 3, a lid (not shown) on the top plate 2 is closed to shield the film from light. While the film is being fed through the film guide 6, magnetic information is read out (or written in) by the magnetic head unit 10. Thereafter, any curling tendency of the film is removed by the curl remover 11. When the front end of the film is fed into the processing container Y, the film is taken up. The film take-up speed is set higher than the film feed speed. The synchronization of the speeds is carried by the slip of the torque limiter 153. Once the film F is completely pulled out of the film cartridge X, the film cartridge X itself is pulled, so that the support member 3 pivots until the photo-detector PH1 is turned on and produces a detection signal. It activates the cutting unit 8 to cut the rear end of the film F. In this embodiment, the film F is cut off from the film cartridge by means of the cutting unit 8. But the means for separating the film F from the film cartridge is not limited thereto. When the film is further fed and its rear end is detected by the film detector PH2, the film feed motor 5 and the film take-up shaft driving motor 15 are stopped and the light-shield slit Yb of the container is closed by the driving motor 16. In the embodiment, the light-shielding cover of the processing container is opened and closed by the light-shielding cover driving unit. But it is possible to dispense with the light-shielding cover driving unit if the processing container is provided with an elastic means for urging its cover in the closing direction at all times and a protrusion for opening the cover when setting the processing container on the take-up device.

Claims: An automatic film rewinder system comprising an automatic film rewinder and a processing container, said automatic rewinder comprising: a first support means (3) for supporting a film cartridge (X) accommodating a single film (F), a cutter means (8) for cutting the rear end of the film (F) from the film cartridge (X), a second support means for supporting said processing container (Y), and a film feed device for feeding the film (F) from said film cartridge (X) to said processing container (Y) comprising a plurality of pairs of feed rollers (4), and a first photo detector (PH1) being located between a first and second pair of feed rollers (4), characterized in that said processing container (Y) is designed to hold a maximum of one film (F) and is usable for various types of film (F), and wherein said film feed device further comprises a curl remover (11) for removing any curling tendency of the film (F) while the film (F) is being fed through said film feed device, a magnetic head (10) for reading magnetic information recorded on the film (F) and writing magnetic information onto the film (F) while the film (F) is being fed through said film feed device, and a magnetic device (9) for pressing together said first pair of feed rollers (4) as the front end of said film is detected by said first photo detector (PH1), and a film feed motor (5) for driving said feed rollers (4) via a belt (B). An automatic film rewinder according to claim 1, wherein said processing container (Y) comprises two parts (Y a ), one carrying a take up shaft for said film (F), the other one serving as an openable light shielding cover which is automatically openable and closeable. An automatic film rewinder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said processing container (Y) further comprises a number of guiding devices (Y d ) for guiding the film (F) when inserted into the processing container. An automatic film rewinder as claimed in at least one of the previous claims 1 to 3 further comprising a take up means for taking up the film from the film feed device into said processing container (Y), said take up means comprising a second photo detector (PH2) for detecting the front and the end of the film (F), a take up shaft driving motor (15) for driving said take up shaft (Y c ) and a driving motor (16) for opening and closing the light shielding cover (Y a ). An automatic film rewinder according to at least one of the previous claims 1 to 4, wherein the belt (B) is a chain.

Inventors: YAMAGUCHI TAKUJI, YAMAGUCHI, TAKUJI, YAMAGUCHI, TAKUJI, C/O NORITSU KOKI CO., LTD.
Applicants: NORITSU KOKI CO LTD, NORITSU KOKI CO., LTD.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: G03D13
IPC codes: G03D13, G03D15